Enlightenment, after the face lift.

I have been working for a while trying to get the weight down on my Ellsworth Enlightenment. After countless hours of research, time waiting for parts, and spending enough money to make the national debt look like chump change it is just about done. I am still waiting for my Boone ti rings and I may order some aluminum and titanium bolts, but other than that I think I'm done spending money on it for a while. I am also going to be cutting the steerer tube off some more once I figure out exactly how low I want to run the stem. I still need to cut the seatpost down as well.

I think that is about all of the changes I've made recently. The new weight is right at 20.75 pounds. My goal is to have it down to 20.5 pounds. I think I'll be able to do it without having to file bankruptcy.

After having prostatitis twice I'm not willing to give up a saddle that works for me.

Whilst postatitis is from infection I still would stick with a more comfortable or padded saddle.

And I think your build is spot on perfect. Keep the post too. I had a nice light EC70 but that thing sucks in comparision to my Thompson so happen to agree, there really isn't anything much more reliable than the Thompson!

Well I finally had an opportunity to take the bike out tonight. This was it's first ride since I did all of the upgrades. It was a relatively easy night ride, stayed primarily in heart rate zones 1 - 3 so I wasn't exactly riding at race pace. I could still tell the bike is fast. I was a little worried about the ride since I went ahead and put on the 12 - 27 cassette even though I haven't received my new 20t and 31t chainrings. I debated putting the 11 - 34 back on for this ride but decided against it. Once I started climbing my mind was put at ease. Losing all of the rotating weight really made a difference, I never even noticed the smaller cassette.

I hate to say it, but the bike actually felt like it was moving without me. It almost felt like I was riding on flat ground even when I was climbing. On a climb that I normally climb in 32x30 or 32x34 I was climbing with no problems in my 32 x 27 gear.

The wheelset was great, I have no idea how American Classic could make a wheelset that is so light so stiff. The first couple of roots I jumped left me with a stunned look on my face. It almost hurt when I landed the bike. I quickly remembered that I was on my hardtail and not my full suspension. After a few minutes I learned how to ride again and everything was fine. The ride is rather harsh but I expected that. You don't ride an aluminum hardtail with a stiff wheelset and expect it to feel like you are riding a lazy boy.

The tires were great as well. They provided great traction on the roots and rocks. They saved me a couple of times on the damp leaves as well.

The SRAM X.0 derailleur shifted just like it is supposed to, and always has....perfect! The Ultegra 12 - 27 cassette did it's job as well. The FSA XC-115 stem and the ti eggbeater spindles did their job as well. They helped lighten up the bike but more importantly I never noticed them. I think that is the best that you can hope for when changing parts like this. After all, the parts they replaced performed flawlessly, these do the same just a little lighter.

I have no doubt that doing the recent changes will make me at least thirty seconds quicker on a ten minute climb.